In a society where children are economically and culturally valuable, the maternity plays an integral part in providing health care services to the community. In the community of Tiogo, births at the local maternity are assisted by the nurses and the two village midwives. Women who give birth at the maternity pay 750 fCFA for the services. Often, however, with limited knowledge about the importance of birthing at the maternity or because of financial constraints, women choose to give birth at their homes, aided by family members and friends. Furthermore, many of the births that do not take place at the maternity occur at night, aided only by the light from a keronene lantern

This project has two goals: The first goal is to conduct a training with the midwives, sponsored by the local Health Center, who will then be able to reach out to the women of surrounding villages and educate them on the importance of giving birth in a clean and sanitary environment. The second goal is to provide around-the-clock availability for birthing by installing a solar lighting system at the maternity for those women whose children are born after sunset.

The community has contributed 27.2% of the total project cost, including cash and per diem for the midwives and Health Center trainers. Partneship funds will also be helping with per diems for trainers in addition to purchasing the solar lighting system.